Members of the 772nd Expeditionary Airlift Squadron at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, established a new record for the unit by completing 51 airdrop missions during January. This mark shattered the C-130J unit’s previous monthly high of 40 airdrops. “It feels good to be setting records, but what you’ll find with most of the guys here is that it doesn’t matter if you break a record. It matters that you complete the mission and get the supplies where they need to go so we can help those guys on the ground,” said Lt. Col. Walt Ord, 772nd EAS aircraft commander. Airmen assigned to the 41st Airlift Squadron at Little Rock AFB, Ark., and the 345th AS and Air Force Reserve Command’s 815th AS, both at Keesler AFB, Miss., currently constitute this expeditionary unit. (Kandahar report by SrA Melissa B. White)
The emphasis on speed in the Pentagon’s newly unveiled slate of acquisition reforms may come with increased near-term cost increases, analysts say. But according to U.S. defense officials, the new weapons-buying construct provides the military with enough flexibility to prevent runaway budget overruns in major programs.
